Aur Resources

An emerging coalition of conservation, Aboriginal, and social justice organizations is calling on the federal government to immediately stop the practice of allowing mining companies to use Canada’s lakes as dumping grounds for toxic mine wastes.

Ottawa - On October 18, 2006, two lakes in Newfoundland that are habitat to trout, Atlantic salmon, otter, and other species, received a death sentence as the newly amended Metal Mining Effluent Regulations (MMER) went into law.

Aur Resources plans to destroy two trout and salmon-bearing lakes in central Newfoundland by using them for the disposal of environmentally toxic mine waste. Environment Canada has recommended adding these two ponds to Schedule 2 of the Metal Mining Effluent Regulations (MMER), effectively redefining natural water bodies as mine waste dumps. This document provides facts from the public record that demonstrate why the two ponds should not be added to Schedule 2.

A proposal to amend the Metal Mining Effluent Regulations has been posted to the Canada Gazette. The proposal will change two fish-bearing water bodies in Newfoundland — at the headwaters of the Exploits River — into permanent tailings impoundments to service Aur Resources’ Duck Pond Mine. The mine will only last seven years.

Alternatives to using the lakes for tailings disposal were never properly evaluated, and the plan to compensate for the destruction of fish habitat is inadequate.